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SPECIAL ON-LINE EDITION
May 2020
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We are Brighton & Hove's loneliness charity. Help us train COVID-19 volunteers to support isolated people in your neighbourhood.
Text TOGETHERCO to 70085 to donate £5 Texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message Registered Charity No 1083390
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Welcome to Poets Pages!
Page 4/5....Essential Local services Page 6/7...Old Photo
So much has changed in the last month. Unfortunately we aren’t able to distribute a printed copy of Poets Pages this month due to the lockdown, but if you’re reading this thank you for finding us online and please let other local residents know where they can find our May issue.
Many thanks also to all our contributors – amongst other things, we have some great local history articles for you and our Poets Person is Mike Dicks, who is self-isolating in a flat opposite St Peter’s Church. We hope you find some useful information and do contact us if you have any suggestions or contributions for our June issue, which is likely to again be online-only. We hope you are all staying safe and keeping well. The Poets Pages Team info@poetspages.co.uk www.poetspages.co.uk
Page 8/9...Self Isolation in Shelley Road Page 10...Local History Page 11....VE Day 75 Page 13...Councillor Details & Health TIP Page 15....Scuffles in Scott Road Page 16...Open Windows 2020 Page 17....Plans for a New Lidl Page 18...Children’s Parade Page 19...Useful information Page 20/21...Life After Lockdown Page 22...Councillor News
Cover photo: St Peter’s Church with a projection by Mike Dicks
Page...Where in Poets Corner
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Information on local essential services Help...
If you need help (eg with food or medicine deliveries, financial support or domestic violence), you can request help for yourself or someone else on the council website at: http://ow.ly/FvSB50z5ENM Brighton and Hove Community Support Telephone: 01273 293117 There is also a volunteer network at: https:// acorntheunion.org.uk/corona/ - you can sign up to volunteer or request help.
Pastoral Support
A new phone line, Hearing You, has been set up by the Diocese of Chichester with Together in Sussex to offer pastoral support and a listening ear for the recently bereaved and anyone directly affected by Covid-19. You don’t have to be a churchgoer. The number is: 01273 425047 (9am to 7pm, Monday to Friday).
Council Services
Advice on all council services is available at: https://new.brighton-hove.gov.uk/coronavirus-covid-19
Food and Groceries
Here are a few of the local businesses that are currently open. Details may change, so please check each business’s website/Facebook page for the latest information. Asiana Grocery at 117 Portland Road is open 10am-4pm Monday to Saturday and offers local deliveries. www.asianabrighton.com Black Radish fruit and vegetable shop at 149 Portland Road is open every morning 9am-12pm Monday to Friday and offers home deliveries in the afternoons. Phone 01273 723392 or message them on Facebook.
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Down to Earth health food shop at 128 Portland Road is open 10am-6pm Monday to Friday, 10am-5.30pm on Saturdays and 10am-4pm on Sundays. Only three customers in the shop at a time and no cash payments. Check their Facebook page for updates. Harriet’s of Hove plastic-free store in Blatchington Road is open 11am-5pm daily. They offer click & collect delivery – visit www.harrietsofhove.com. Hove Fish Shack on Western Esplanade is open from 10am to 4.30pm and also offer free local deliveries. Call 07412 118115 / 01273 323216 / email hovefishshack@icloud.com Sun Harvest, based in the centre of Brighton, are now offering home deliveries of basic groceries: http://sunharvest.focalcreative.uk/. Email info@ sunharvestltd.co.uk / order@sunharvestltd.co.uk or phone 01273 777768 / 01273 697631. Sussex International Grocers at 156 Portland Road offer a local delivery service – 01273 775444. The Sussex Peasant (seasonal Sussex produce sold from a van) visit Stoneham Park on Sundays from 9am-3pm. See their Facebook page for updates. Wild Heart at 77 Portland Road can deliver fresh fruit, vegetables and other food to people who are self-isolating in the Poets Corner area – text or call 07708 687646. The Brighton & Hove Food Partnership has information about local farms, markets, wholesalers and shops that can be contacted to provide fresh food delivery services during the period of the pandemic at: https://bhfood.org.uk/how-to-hub/ local-veg-box-schemes-and-farmers-markets/ They also have advice on support available for accessing free and low-cost food services and how you can help to support vulnerable and isolated people.
Hot Meals
Presto deliver nutritious hot lunches (like Meals on Wheels). Find more information at: www.getpresto.co.uk
Funerals
Only a limited number of people may attend funerals – a maximum of 10 mourners are allowed at Downs Crematorium and 12 at Woodvale Crematorium. More information is available at: https:// new.brighton-hove.gov.uk/news/2020/celebratinglives-loved-ones-whove-died
Pet Shops
A Coombs Pet Centre in Portland Road are taking orders for pet food (but not accessories) online or over the phone and they take card payments at the door.
Pharmacies
Pharmacies are experiencing unprecedented demand, so if possible please allow at least seven days between ordering your prescription and collecting from a pharmacy and don’t ring the pharmacy to see if it’s ready. If you need help and don’t have friends, family or a carer to support you, go to gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable or phone 0800 028 8327, the Government’s dedicated helpline.
Post Offices
Many post offices are still open for essential services but it’s best to check with individual branches.
Toilets
Most public toilets have now been closed for safety reasons, including those in Norton Road and on Western Esplanade. A few will remain open for vulnerable people, including the toilets at King Alfred (8am to 8pm).
Waste and Recycling
Household waste recycling sites are temporarily closed to ensure public and staff safety. Rubbish collections are being prioritised over recycling. Residents with uncollected kerbside recycling can take it to a recycling point or store it at home until normal services resume. 122 new large rubbish containers have been introduced at recycling points throughout the city (including three outside Wish Park Surgery in Portland Road). If you’re self-isolating or someone in your home has symptoms of the coronavirus, please double-bag all used tissues and keep them for 72 hours before disposing in your household waste. That’s also true of any discarded used masks and gloves. Don’t put any of these items in your recycling. Garden waste collections have been suspended until further notice.
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Westbourne Street Shops at 143, 145 and 147. Exact period unknown but sometime between 1900 and 1914. The man sitting in the chair was Mr Slatter, who had an ironmonger’s shop in Church Road. Thanks to the Regency Society for this image from their photographic archives, The James Gray Collection. You can see thousands more historic pictures of Brighton and Hove at: www.regencysociety-jamesgray.com
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Mike Dicks of Shelley Road has been very busy during self-isolation…
Self-Isolation In Shelley Road Illustrator and writer Mike Dicks is currently self-isolating in his flat at the bottom of Shelley Road, opposite St Peter’s Church. He has leukaemia. During the lockdown, he has been projecting images onto the wall of the church to help get across social distancing and other community messages. How did you get the idea to project images onto the church? When I moved in, looked out of my bedroom window and saw that beautiful curved wall with no windows right opposite, I made a mental note that my old projector would probably be able to project onto that. When I started shielding, i.e. self-imprisonment in my flat, I decided to do a new creative project every day, and the mental note popped up and reminded me to try the projector. Tell us more about the images you have been showing… I run a couple of satirical social media accounts and a comic, and I’d been creating simple posters and cartoons to try and get the message about the importance of social distancing and not hoarding loo rolls - I thought they’d play well on the wall and might remind a few locals to keep their distance. I also wanted to highlight keyworkers and vulnerable people - so we all recognised why we’re doing this. On Thursdays I show videos of people clapping - I asked online for films, and it’s so lovely to see the wall and hear my street, Shelley Road, share a moment of community and respect. I’m working on some new ideas for the wall this week, including planning to show local artists’ work during what should have been Artists Open Houses. Were you surprised by how much reaction the pictures have produced? I was. I thought they’d be noticed by a few shoppers and locals, but once I put them online (I post them on Facebook Live occasionally) they started to get noticed more widely. In the end a press photographer came over and took some photos that have since been on the BBC, CNN and in newspapers around the world - making the corner of my street a bit of an icon along with the Matterhorn and the Eiffel Tower My favourite reaction though, was when Bex, a shop assistant at Sainsbury’s, saw one of my slides
telling people to thank Sainsbury’s staff. She wrote me a lovely message thanking me and offering her help with my shopping. It genuinely feels like I can make a connection locally and globally by pointing a projector out the window. How are you getting your food supplies? I have a good friend who offered to be my primary shopper and carer - she lives just down the road and shops once a week. We chat across the corridor (it’s 4m wide) when she drops supplies off and I look forward to that immensely. Other friends have made cakes, dinners and bread and popped them round and strangers have offered, because of the wall. I use Deliveroo and Runner if I need something that day. I’m lucky to live where I do; I think other people shielding in less urban areas must struggle more. Although I’m on the shielding list, because of my leukaemia and chemotherapy, I’m actually quite healthy and active with my work, so although I’m registered with the NHS Volunteer system and the council as vulnerable I’m not using the help they offer because I think there are others more in need of it. What is the hardest aspect of self-isolation? Hugs, the lack of them. I work from home and have done for nine years, so I’m very used to my own company and the discipline of working, but I miss human contact, the company of friends and strangers in local pubs, walking to the sea - which I’m reliably informed is still at the end of the road opposite me. I’m lucky to have a social media platform and a community around that to chat with or try to entertain each day. I can express myself through that medium, talk about the things I find funny, sad or angry about. But in the end, it’s hugs. Has the lockdown affected your leukaemia treatment? A little; I’m lucky that I’m halfway through chemotherapy and I had just finished the first six months
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One of Mike’s messages on St Peter’s Church
Mike (with himself!) in lockdown
of having to visit the hospital three times a month. Now I take half a dozen tablets a day. The only problem is the blood test I have to give in order to get my next month’s drugs. In shielding I can’t leave the flat to give blood and to be honest I’m glad of that because I’ve become quite agoraphobic about the sky and streets. I have to arrange for a phlebotomist to visit me and take the blood here; last time she turned up in PPE gear and it was a little like one of those movies where aliens come to ‘probe’ you. It felt odd to have a visitor inside the flat. However, my doctor is aiming to send me two months of drugs this time, which will take some of the stress out of that process. The main thing to stress is that I’m shielding for good reasons. I have a faulty immune system and at the moment they have no idea how Covid-19 would affect me or what the right treatments might be; also, if I did contract it, it would mean the team in the Haematology ward potentially being exposed as they’d have to be involved in my care, so it’s better to avoid it until the NHS can better cope with more complicated patients.
To see Mike’s artwork, visit descience.co.uk or Facebook: Mike Dicks Art.
What are you most looking forward to once you are able to safely go out again? A hug.
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Rachel Bridgeman looks back at VE Day in Brighton in May 1945…
“My Dear Friends, This Is Your Hour”
(Winston Churchill, 8 May 1945)
On 8th May 1945, Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that Germany had surrendered. After six years of horror and bloodshed, the Second World War in Europe was over. Due to Covid 19, we are likely to be celebrating the peace and paying tribute to those who defeated fascism whilst isolated in our homes rather than rejoicing collectively as the people of our city did 75 years ago. Sallie will now be unable to share her memories with her community at St Leonard’s Church in West Hove as planned. These are her memories. Across Brighton and Hove, people flooded into the streets to share in the collective euphoria. “We Brits went a bit mad for a day or two.” Thirteenyear-old Sallie and her friend, Mary, walked into Brighton and joined in the jubilation at the Clock Tower. “People were drunk with happiness. Men
and women were hugging and kissing each other. Glad to be alive. No more air raids. No more rocket attacks. Mary and I were swept away in a Conga line which took us down West Street. We walked home through the crowds along the seafront, past the smoking remains of a deck-chair bonfire (made by some high-spirited South African troops) and around which crowds had a grand sing-song – a bit like a scout camp. Back at home, we celebrated with Spam fritters and toasted each other with tea. I remember going to bed that night with the curtains drawn back. No black-out needed now. I was happy knowing that there would be no more air-raids. No nasty Nazi bombers.”
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Although VE Day marked victory in Europe, it did not mark the end of the war. That would not come until 15th August 1945 with the surrender of Japan. Today, Sallie reflects: “We had yet to discover how devastated the countries in A VE Day party in Lynton Street. Photo courtesy of Marion Wilson, who is at the front wearing a blazer. Europe were and Many of the children are holding porcelain cups containing the first ice cream they had ever had. how many thousands of people were dead in horror camps. We first visit or you have lived here your whole life, knew nothing of the horrors that were to come the tours are a great way to discover, uncover and and the use of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and experience the area. Nagasaki.” To receive the programme of walks: email hoveacWhen we can once more freely and safely roam tuallywalks@gmail.com. the streets of our fabulous city, why not learn Visit: Facebook (Hove Actually Walking Tours) more about their fascinating history? Hove Actually Walking Tours are fun, informative and best Rachel Bridgeman - local historian & tour guide suited to the incurably curious. Whether it’s your
An update on this year’s VE Day anniversary celebrations…
VE Day 75... Many community celebrations had been planned across the country for the 75th anniversary of VE Day over the bank holiday weekend of 8th to 10th May. Unfortunately, the majority of these have had to be postponed due to the Coronavirus lockdown. However, some solo pipers and town criers may mark the occasion from safe and suitable locations. The VE Day 75 Pageantmaster, Bruno Peek, is hoping that postponed events can be moved to the weekend of 15th to 16th August, when we will be able to celebrate both VE Day and VJ Day. For the latest information, visit: https://www.veday75.org/ Some people will be marking the anniversary with a “Stay at Home Street Party” on Friday 8th May by decorating their houses in red, white and blue and having a picnic in the front garden, whilst still practising safe social distancing. For more information, visit Facebook: Stay at home street party
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Your local representatives...
Councillors for Wish and Westbourne Garry Peltzer Dunn and Robert Nemeth are Conservative councillors for Wish ward. You can contact them at: Robert.Nemeth@brighton-hove.gov.uk / 01273 291819 Garry.Peltzerdunn@brighton-hove.gov.uk / 01273 291186
You can contact the Labour councillors for Westbourne, Carmen Appich and Chris Henry, at: Carmen.Appich@brighton-hove.gov.uk / 07562 437632 Christopher.Henry@brighton-hove.gov.uk / 07395 282745
Health advice from Nathalie Sansonetti…
Fear versus immunity The author Maya Angelou once wrote: “Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space – invite one to stay.” In light of the uncertain times we live in right now, I wanted to share some of the tips I give my clients who frequently face a wide range of fears. From fear of food to fear of illness, symptoms, losing jobs etc. Why is fear to be avoided? While a modicum of fear is normal, healthy and ensures our survival, when felt chronically, fear will harm your immune system. Constant fear will trigger a fight or flight response in your body, and increase the production of stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline). This will then suppress some essential functions: digestive, cardio-vascular and immune systems among others. These will be put on hold until the perception of fear and other stresses are eliminated.
Go into nature. Every day.
Here are some practical tips to help you lower your fear and stress levels:
My thoughts are with you all.
Keep the news to a minimum – on any media. Breathe more deeply, little and often, particularly before eating. You can find a very helpful 1-minute breathing exercise here. Meditation can instantly stop the stress response. There isn’t a right or wrong way to meditate, but free apps are widely available to get you started.
Hug your loved ones more (furry and human) to boost feel-good hormones. Do more of what you love. Now is the perfect time for reading that book, gardening, having baths, or whatever makes you feel nourished. Communicate with friends, family and community any way you can – don’t stay isolated. Nathalie x Nathalie Sansonetti, Health & Nutrition Coach I offer a free 30-minute phone consultation if you would like further guidance on this or another health issue you might be worried about. Email: nathalie@newleafnutrition.co.uk
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Roy Moffatt reminisces about Scott Road and Portland Motors in the 1950s…
Scuffles and More in Scott Road! In 1950, when I was three, my family moved down from London to Hove. My dad bought a car showroom, flats and workshop on Portland Road next to the then Aldrington Primary School (now Young Sussex Nursery). The 1930s building is still there with flats above the former showroom, which is now used as a shop (Ackerman Music). The sale also included a workshop in Scott Road which backed onto the Portland Road premises. The Scott Road workshop is still there (now Wickenden’s garage) but in those days there was also a two storey flat built above it, and that was where my family lived. I lived there for eight years and remember a very different world to today. Traffic in Portland Road was light and Dad’s Portland Motors garage sold petrol. Cars just parked by the kerb in Portland Road and petrol was pumped from a tank under an alleyway which used to run between the garage and the school. The petrol then ran along a hose which ran through the building and swung out over the pavement on a metal arm so that an attendant could put the nozzle in the car’s filler. We also sold paraffin in large quantities because most people then had paraffin stoves to heat their homes. Opposite our flat, on the corner of Scott Road and Portland Road, was The Portland pub (now The Stoneham). The entrance to the smart Saloon Bar was on Portland Road, however the working man’s Public Bar entrance was at the side in Scott Road. This was opposite our flat and I often looked out from the security of our first floor window to watch men come out of the Public Bar, roll up their sleeves and fight in the middle of Scott Road. We knew that during World War Two the Scott Road workshop had been used by the Canadian Army for repairing tanks. In the workshop there was still a huge beam with a chain and hook labelled 25 tons lifting weight that had been used to lift the tank engines. However that was not all the Canadians had left behind. One day, when I was about five, I decided to explore the building. I crawled through a hole into the roof and poked around and found a wooden box, divided into partitions and filled with
Roy in his pedal car outside the car showroom
Portland Motors (now Ackerman Music)
straw. I returned to the kitchen and proudly held out a round metal object. My mum froze, told me not to pull out the pin, and yelled down to my dad in the garage below, “Frank, come here – Roy’s found a box of hand grenades in the roof!” There were many hand grenades in the box. I guess that when the Canadian soldiers left the country they must have been so keen to go home that they hadn’t done a thorough search of the building. No-one ever told me what my dad did with the grenades, but my parents never let me forget the day I nearly blew up Scott Road! Roy Moffatt
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A great idea by Brighton artist Denise Harrison to brighten up our daily exercise‌
Open Windows 2020 Openwindows2020 came about as an idea after the open houses were postponed. I was due to show my work at Phoenix Open Studios where my practice is based. I thought it would be great if artwork could be displayed in windows throughout May instead so that people who were on their usual walk would have that walk brightened up by seeing art. It is also about getting everyone involved in creating art, an inclusive project that gives a creative purpose; we are all at home, so everyone in the household can partake. Phoenix Artspace will also be taking part. As we have a dedicated Instagram page, people can follow @openwindows2020 and tag their work #openwindows2020 to be featured; we also have a Facebook page openwindows2020. This means that even those in isolation can still see the artwork and if you live in a top floor flat, you can still show your work, making the project accessible to all. It has become so popular that open house groups from across the country are joining in; we also have three groups in Australia getting involved as well as France, Spain, Scotland and Hong Kong. This means that it has also become a great networking opportunity. If you pass a window with the @openwindows2020 sign in the window, this means that you can find out about that person’s artwork as it will be on the Instagram and Facebook page. Denise Harrison Email: deniseharrisonart@gmail.com Website: deniseharrisonart.com
Image by Faye Bridgwater (fayebridgwater.com)
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Local news…
Plans for a new Lidl Plans have been submitted to Brighton & Hove City Council for a new Lidl discount supermarket at Unit 3, Goldstone Retail Park, in the former Toys R Us store. The plans include alterations to part of the customer car park to provide parking for disabled shoppers and parents. The proposed store is expected to create up to 40 new jobs and Lidl say that it will provide increased choice for local residents and reduce the need to travel. Comments from neighbours have been mixed. They are broadly supportive of the idea of a new supermarket but there are concerns about possible traffic congestion and pedestrian safety around the retail park. One neighbour said: “I support the proposal to bring what is currently a vacant unit back into use to provide a new retail offer into the area. The site has good parking facilities and can be easily accessed. Given the volume of residential development that is planned for the neighbourhood more retail provision in the locality is badly needed.” You can find more details of the proposals on the council’s planning register at https://planningapps. brighton-hove.gov.uk/online-applications/ - search for application BH2020/00549. A decision is due to be made by 5th June.
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A stay-at-home event at 10.30am on Saturday 2nd May…
Children’s Parade at Home Brighton Festival and Same Sky are inviting every child to take part in the Children’s Parade At Home to celebrate their creativity and imagination.
The annual Children’s Parade was due to take place on Sat 2 May to officially mark the start of Brighton Festival 2020 but the event had to be cancelled when social distancing restrictions were implemented due to the coronavirus outbreak. In partnership with award-winning community arts charity Same Sky, the stay at home event is open to everyone to have five minutes of fun during lockdown at 10.30am on Sat 2 May. Participants are encouraged to post their photos and videos on social media with #ChildrensParadeAtHome to capture the parade as a digital get-together to share online with friends, family, neighbours and across communities. John Varah, Artistic Director, Same Sky added: “Whether you want to conga around your kitchen, wave a flag from your window, blow a whistle from your balcony, shimmy in your sitting room or dress-up on your doorstep – anything goes at the Children’s Parade at Home! We want to celebrate young people’s creativity in all forms and keep the spirit of the Children’s Parade alive.” Same Sky artists have produced free online art resources to inspire parents and carers to make props with children to wear or play with on the day - from masks to musical instruments – the how-to guides will use recycled materials that can be found around the home. Andrew Comben, Chief Executive of Brighton Festival said: “We know how much the Children’s
Parade means, not only to the 5,000 children, teachers, parents and volunteers who take part every year but to all the families and visitors who enjoy watching this spectacular community event in the heart of Brighton. As we can’t be together physically, we hope this alternative parade will offer a sense of unity and joy at a time when we all need it the most.” The largest of its kind in Europe, Brighton Festival Children’s Parade has taken place for over 30 years, with more than 10,000 spectators lining the streets of Brighton city centre each year. The Parade is kindly sponsored by Southern Water. Further information is available on Brighton Festival and Same Sky websites (Brightonfestival.org / Samesky.co.uk) and social media. #ChildrensParadeAtHome
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Sources of Useful Information on the Coronavirus Lockdown Government advice on what you can and can’t do during the lockdown is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-andcant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-canand-cant-do
Eligible NHS workers should contact their site travel coordinator for information on how to take up this offer. Care contractor staff working for Brighton & Hove City Council should contact their company travel coordinator. Fitness
https://www.sussex.police.uk/police-forces/sussex-police/areas/campaigns/campaigns/coronavirus-our-response/
Information and advice from Brighton & Hove City Council on keeping healthy and well at home is available on the supporting your wellbeing pages and through the Brighton & Hove Healthy Lifestyles Facebook page.
Bikes
Parking
BTN BikeShare is available for free to NHS staff working in Brighton & Hove during the coronavirus pandemic. Annual memberships, which include 30 minutes of free travel and no unlock fees, are also being offered to care contractor staff working for Brighton & Hove City Council.
Free parking is available for NHS staff and social care workers during the coronavirus pandemic. This enables them to park in on-street parking bays and council-owned car parks without having to worry about cost or time restrictions. They need to display either their Key Worker Letter or a copy of their work identification in their windscreen or, when parking in barrier car parks, buzz the intercom and show their pass.
Police advice is available at:
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Richard Hearnden’s take on life under lockdown…
My Lockdown Blues Arguably the worst kept secret of our times was that a lockdown was on the way. From at least the first week in March it was clear that within weeks we would all be confined to our own homes. So when it came, we were prepared. Oh, we were very prepared. The loo rolls flew off the supermarket shelves like they had wings of their own. Shopping trolleys were crammed full. In the interstices left between jumbo packs of toilet paper were hand sanitisers by the dozen, anti-bacterial wipes, and Dettol. As time wore on, Donald Trump would reveal to us a clinical use for the latter, but that was weeks off. It probably hadn’t occurred to anyone that the uses of toilet roll during a lockdown were pretty limited. And yet, mountains of it were being stuffed into car boots like it was the California gold rush. Fights broke out between shoppers over the last pack of Andrex, captured for posterity in an Australian YouTube video which had gone, err, viral. I imagine it was at some point afterwards that households realised the limitations of loo roll, not famed for its nutritional value. Back to Tesco, then, to stock up on the last tinned tomatoes in England. Aldi cleaned out of spaghetti. Sainsbury’s shelves denuded of, perversely, all baking ingredients. Flour, yeast and eggs all gone. So it was that things started to get serious on Sunday 22 March, when McDonald’s announced it would close all its restaurants the next day. Cue more panic buying as people queued round the block to get their last Filet-o-Fish for perhaps a very long time. Healthy eating campaigners cheered. But I wonder if Macky Dee’s had called that right, because of all the businesses who have done well out of the lockdown (and by that I mean, survived) takeaways are at the top of the league table. You can get a pizza from Domino’s and practically anything from Deliveroo, but Big Mac and fries with a thick milkshake are denied to us. Another irony is that whilst all the pubs are closed, boozing has gone through the roof. Poets’ Corner does very well out of its public houses. We have
four of them, with another three on the south side of Portland Road. Then, there’s nothing between here and France. So for folks living around New Church Road it probably felt like pubs didn’t exist anyway, but here it is like having one’s right arm amputated. The soul of the community silenced. Stoneham Park silenced. West Hove Infants and Hove Juniors, silenced. The buses and the hum of traffic on Portland Road, orders of magnitude quieter. The tranquility that has befallen us has obvious upsides. I’ve heard the beautiful chirruping of blackbirds and blue tits, and the cooing of collared doves. With no one able to eat chips outdoors, the seagulls really are suffering, and it shows, as their avian rivals out-sing them. All that is left is the sound of runners running and families riding bicycles. The occasional power drill buzzes as dads everywhere decide to put up shelves / screw down floor boards / build a new kitchen, as the situation demands. But you could hear a pin drop in our street which, for the family cyclists, is a helpful warning. Social distancing during our government-mandated exercise hour has been especially weird. I usually go for a morning run along the seafront. Running isn’t usually considered to be a sport of skill. You just, well, run. Increase your heart rate. Get worn out. Burn calories. Now, a new dimension has been added: avoiding other people. As if in a game of dodgem cars, I crisscross the promenade like a swimmer being pursued by an alligator. My Strava app shows a sawtooth of progress, zigzagging and making sharp turns suddenly. After two attempts, I gave up. I now have other jogging routes, which usually involve me running down the middle of deserted streets. I am rather enjoying the variety, but I do miss the sea.
IMPORTANT...more than ever please support local businesses when you can
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As hard as it is, this lockdown is positively liberal by the standards of those in Italy and Spain where outdoor movement has been much more restricted. In Singapore, not to mention South Korea and China, people have been more or less locked into their apartments. And, of course, the privations we have to endure are nothing as to those confined to hospitals either as a patient or as a health worker. What fear must stalk the many care homes there are, south of Portland Road (where the pubs might have been), knowing that an outbreak will rip through like wildfire? With insufficient protective gear and a weak programme of testing, these people are the infantry of this crisis. Let’s hope we carry on applauding them all from our doorsteps once a week, well after we have defeated Covid-19. Richard Hearnden
Answers to “Where in Poets Corner?” on page 23 Picture 1: 25 Tamworth Road Picture 2: 7 Scott Road Picture 3: 7 Lennox Road Picture 4: 33 Lennox Road Picture 5: 35 Lennox Road Picture 6: Marmion Road Picture 7: Kendal Road
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News from Westbourne ward councillors Carmen Appich and Chris Henry…
Councillor News Your councillors are working hard during these strange times, even though you can’t see them walking round the wards. As your councillors we are still linked to the wonderful Westbourne community via email, phone and social media. We’ve learnt to deal with casework in a new, socially distanced way! Thank you for your patience while the council adjusts to Covid-19. We’d like to thank the Council and NHS staff for their continued efforts in keeping the city running despite serious problems. Thanks also to all the spontaneous and selfless offers of help for vulnerable members of our communities, much appreciated! There is no way the Council could manage the tasks you are all doing for your neighbours, like shopping, walking the dog and sharing online shopping details. We also continue the exciting work we started on regenerating the Western Esplanade and we’re backing the ambitious plan to add more greenery and trees to Hove Lagoon. Carmen, as lead for Adult Social Care, is an active part of the Council’s response to the COVID pandemic, involved in co-ordinating efforts to deal with vulnerable people. We are both excited that Carmen will soon be working on restoring the Brighton & Hove economy after Covid-19 and working hard so that we can bounce back and get life back on track. Chris has been working on his community projects in the ward and has now moved the fitness and wellbeing sessions for older people from Hove Methodist Church to the video app Zoom! See facebook.com/profitnesscommunity. He’s also been working with Hove MP, Peter Kyle, to ensure our older relatives are safe during Covid-19 and beyond – their work on care homes has forced government to improve the way they treat staff and residents in our care homes. We can’t wait to see as many of you as possible when it’s safe to do so. Let’s have a month of street parties to celebrate! Councillors Carmen Appich and Chris Henry Carmen.Appich@brighton-hove.gov.uk Christopher.Henry@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Chris and Carmen (taken prior to social distancing measures)
IMPORTANT... more than ever please support local businesses when you can.
IMPORTANT...more than ever please support local businesses when you can
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Our local quiz...
Where in Poets Corner? This month Richard Hearnden has taken photos of some of the lovely rainbow artwork currently seen in windows around Poets Corner. Perhaps you can spot your house? You can find the answers on page 21.
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